The present invention relates generally to fiberoptic lighting systems and, more particularly, to a miniaturized fiberoptic illuminating device, such as a headlamp, employing a plurality of optical fibers for emitting output light and a single lens for receiving and focusing the output light.
It is well known in the field of fiberoptics that optical fibers are capable of effectively and efficiently conducting light from a common source along nonlinear paths to various locations remote from the light source without encountering substantial transmission losses. Because of this capability, there is increasing interest in the application of optical fibers to uses where space is restricted. One such use is the overall illumination needs of vehicles where space is scarce due to aerodynamic and styling considerations.
One general approach to the application of optical fibers to vehicular illumination needs is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,172 to Davenport et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,718 to Davenport et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,227 to Finch et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,263 to Davenport et al., all assigned to General Electric Company. These patents disclose various lighting systems that basically employ a plurality of optical fibers having their respective input ends coupled to a high intensity common light source and their respective output ends individually coupled to respective ones of a plurality of optical lenses. Thus, the operative principle underlying this approach is to use one lens per optical fiber.
While this general approach may fulfill overall illumination requirements, a major shortcoming is that it fails to accommodate space limitations dictated by vehicular aerodynamic and styling requirements. The provision of one lens per optical fiber results in devices much too large to find general application to all locations where illumination is required in vehicles. Thus, there is a need for a fiberoptic illuminating device that will satisfy the overall illumination requirements while avoiding the aforementioned major shortcoming.